man hier(hierarchy)

https://askubuntu.com/questions/130186/what-is-the-rationale-for-the-usr-directory
HIER(7) Linux Programmer’s Manual HIER(7)

NAME
hier - description of the filesystem hierarchy
/bin 单用户模式下、启动或者修复系统用的可执行程序
/usr 通常作为一个分区，可共享的，只读的
ll /usr

/usr/bin 可执行文件的基础目录，普通用户执行的大多数程序，是启动过程或修复系统所不需要的，那些本地安装的程序不应该在这个目录
/usr/lib 一些Object库文件，包括动态链接库，和一些一般不直接调用的可执行文件;更多的复杂的程序会在这里有子目录。
/usr/local
This is where programs which are local to the site typically go.
/usr/local/bin
Binaries for programs local to the site.
/usr/local/sbin
Locally installed programs for system administration.
/usr/sbin
This directory contains program binaries for system administra‐
tion which are not essential for the boot process, for mounting
/usr, or for system repair.
/usr/share
This directory contains subdirectories with specific application
data, that can be shared among different architectures of the
same OS. Often one finds stuff here that used to live in
/usr/doc or /usr/lib or /usr/man.
/var
This directory contains files which may change in size, such as
spool and log files.

DESCRIPTION
A typical Linux system has, among others, the following directories:

   /      This  is  the  root  directory.   This  is  where the whole tree
          starts.

   /bin   This directory contains executable programs which are needed  in
          single user mode and to bring the system up or repair it.

   /boot  Contains static files for the boot loader.  This directory holds
          only the files which are needed during the  boot  process.   The
          map  installer  and  configuration  files should go to /sbin and
          /etc.  The operating system kernel (initrd for example) must  be
          located in either / or /boot.

   /dev   Special  or  device files, which refer to physical devices.  See
          mknod(1).

   /etc   Contains configuration files which are  local  to  the  machine.
          Some larger software packages, like X11, can have their own sub‐
          directories below /etc.  Site-wide configuration  files  may  be
          placed  here  or  in  /usr/etc.   Nevertheless,  programs should
          always look for these files in /etc and you may have  links  for
          these files to /usr/etc.

   /etc/opt
          Host-specific   configuration   files  for  add-on  applications
          installed in /opt.

   /etc/sgml
          This  directory  contains  the  configuration  files  for   SGML
          (optional).

   /etc/skel
          When  a  new  user account is created, files from this directory
          are usually copied into the user's home directory.

   /etc/X11
          Configuration files for the X11 window system (optional).

   /etc/xml
          This  directory  contains  the  configuration  files   for   XML
          (optional).

   /home  On  machines  with home directories for users, these are usually
          beneath this directory, directly or not.  The structure of  this
          directory depends on local administration decisions (optional).

   /lib   This  directory should hold those shared libraries that are nec‐
          essary to boot the system and to run the commands  in  the  root
          filesystem.

   /lib<qual>
          These  directories  are variants of /lib on system which support
          more  than  one  binary  format  requiring  separate   libraries
          (optional).

   /lib/modules
          Loadable kernel modules (optional).

   /lost+found
          This  directory  contains  items  lost in the filesystem.  These
          items are usually chunks of files mangled as a consequence of  a
          faulty disk or a system crash.

   /media This directory contains mount points for removable media such as
          CD and DVD disks or USB sticks.  On systems where more than  one
          device exists for mounting a certain type of media, mount direc‐
          tories can be created by appending a digit to the name of  those
          available above starting with '0', but the unqualified name must
          also exist.

   /media/floppy[1-9]
          Floppy drive (optional).

   /media/cdrom[1-9]
          CD-ROM drive (optional).

   /media/cdrecorder[1-9]
          CD writer (optional).

   /media/zip[1-9]
          Zip drive (optional).

   /media/usp[1-9]
          USB drive (optional).

   /mnt   This directory is  a  mount  point  for  a  temporarily  mounted
          filesystem.  In some distributions, /mnt contains subdirectories
          intended to be  used  as  mount  points  for  several  temporary
          filesystems.

   /opt   This  directory  should  contain  add-on  packages  that contain
          static files.

   /proc  This is a mount point for the proc  filesystem,  which  provides
          information  about  running  processes  and  the  kernel.   This
          pseudo-filesystem is described in more detail in proc(5).

   /root  This directory is usually the home directory for the  root  user
          (optional).

   /sbin  Like /bin, this directory holds commands needed to boot the sys‐
          tem, but which are usually not executed by normal users.

   /srv   This directory contains site-specific data  that  is  served  by
          this system.

   /sys   This  is  a mount point for the sysfs filesystem, which provides
          information about the kernel like /proc, but better  structured,
          following the formalism of kobject infrastructure.

   /tmp   This  directory  contains  temporary  files which may be deleted
          with no notice, such as by a regular job or at system boot up.

   /usr   This directory is usually mounted from a separate partition.  It
          should  hold  only  sharable,  read-only data, so that it can be
          mounted by various machines running Linux.

   /usr/X11R6
          The X-Window system, version 11 release 6 (optional).

   /usr/X11R6/bin
          Binaries which belong to the X-Window system; often, there is  a
          symbolic link from the more traditional /usr/bin/X11 to here.

   /usr/X11R6/lib
          Data files associated with the X-Window system.

   /usr/X11R6/lib/X11
          These contain miscellaneous files needed to run X;  Often, there
          is a symbolic link from /usr/lib/X11 to this directory.

   /usr/X11R6/include/X11
          Contains include files needed for compiling programs  using  the
          X11  window  system.   Often,  there  is  a  symbolic  link from
          /usr/include/X11 to this directory.

   /usr/bin
          This is the primary directory  for  executable  programs.   Most
          programs executed by normal users which are not needed for boot‐
          ing or for repairing the system  and  which  are  not  installed
          locally should be placed in this directory.

   /usr/bin/mh
          Commands for the MH mail handling system (optional).

   /usr/bin/X11
          is  the traditional place to look for X11 executables; on Linux,
          it usually is a symbolic link to /usr/X11R6/bin.

   /usr/dict
          Replaced by /usr/share/dict.

   /usr/doc
          Replaced by /usr/share/doc.

   /usr/etc
          Site-wide configuration  files  to  be  shared  between  several
          machines  may  be  stored  in this directory.  However, commands
          should always reference those files using  the  /etc  directory.
          Links  from  files in /etc should point to the appropriate files
          in /usr/etc.

   /usr/games
          Binaries for games and educational programs (optional).

   /usr/include
          Include files for the C compiler.

   /usr/include/bsd
          BSD compatibility include files (optional).

   /usr/include/X11
          Include files for the C compiler and the X-Window system.   This
          is usually a symbolic link to /usr/X11R6/include/X11.

   /usr/include/asm
          Include files which declare some assembler functions.  This used
          to be a symbolic link to /usr/src/linux/include/asm.

   /usr/include/linux
          This contains information which may change from  system  release
          to   system   release   and  used  to  be  a  symbolic  link  to
          /usr/src/linux/include/linux to get at operating-system-specific
          information.

          (Note  that  one  should have include files there that work cor‐
          rectly with the current libc and in user space.  However,  Linux
          kernel  source is not designed to be used with user programs and
          does not know anything about the libc you are using.  It is very
          likely  that  things  will break if you let /usr/include/asm and
          /usr/include/linux point at a random kernel tree.   Debian  sys‐
          tems don't do this and use headers from a known good kernel ver‐
          sion, provided in the libc*-dev package.)

   /usr/include/g++
          Include files to use with the GNU C++ compiler.

   /usr/lib
          Object libraries, including dynamic libraries,  plus  some  exe‐
          cutables  which  usually are not invoked directly.  More compli‐
          cated programs may have whole subdirectories there.

   /usr/lib<qual>
          These directories are variants of /usr/lib on system which  sup‐
          port  more  than one binary format requiring separate libraries,
          except that the symbolic link /usr/lib<qual>/X11 is not required
          (optional).

   /usr/lib/X11
          The  usual  place for data files associated with X programs, and
          configuration files for the X system itself.  On Linux, it  usu‐
          ally is a symbolic link to /usr/X11R6/lib/X11.

   /usr/lib/gcc-lib
          contains  executables  and include files for the GNU C compiler,
          gcc(1).

   /usr/lib/groff
          Files for the GNU groff document formatting system.

   /usr/lib/uucp
          Files for uucp(1).

   /usr/local
          This is where programs which are local to the site typically go.

   /usr/local/bin
          Binaries for programs local to the site.

   /usr/local/doc
          Local documentation.

   /usr/local/etc
          Configuration files associated with locally installed programs.

   /usr/local/games
          Binaries for locally installed games.

   /usr/local/lib
          Files associated with locally installed programs.

   /usr/local/lib<qual>
          These directories are variants of /usr/local/lib on system which
          support more than one binary format requiring separate libraries
          (optional).

   /usr/local/include
          Header files for the local C compiler.

   /usr/local/info
          Info pages associated with locally installed programs.

   /usr/local/man
          Man pages associated with locally installed programs.

   /usr/local/sbin
          Locally installed programs for system administration.

   /usr/local/share
          Local application data that can be shared among different archi‐
          tectures of the same OS.

   /usr/local/src
          Source code for locally installed software.

   /usr/man
          Replaced by /usr/share/man.

   /usr/sbin
          This  directory contains program binaries for system administra‐
          tion which are not essential for the boot process, for  mounting
          /usr, or for system repair.

   /usr/share
          This directory contains subdirectories with specific application
          data, that can be shared among different  architectures  of  the
          same  OS.   Often  one  finds  stuff  here  that used to live in
          /usr/doc or /usr/lib or /usr/man.

   /usr/share/dict
          Contains the word lists used by spell checkers (optional).

   /usr/share/dict/words
          List of English words (optional).

   /usr/share/doc
          Documentation about installed programs (optional).

   /usr/share/games
          Static data files for games in /usr/games (optional).

   /usr/share/info
          Info pages go here (optional).

   /usr/share/locale
          Locale information goes here (optional).

   /usr/share/man
          Manual pages go here in subdirectories according to the man page
          sections.

   /usr/share/man/<locale>/man[1-9]
          These  directories  contain manual pages for the specific locale
          in source code form.  Systems which use a  unique  language  and
          code set for all manual pages may omit the <locale> substring.

   /usr/share/misc
          Miscellaneous  data that can be shared among different architec‐
          tures of the same OS.

   /usr/share/nls
          The  message  catalogs  for  native  language  support  go  here
          (optional).

   /usr/share/sgml
          Files for SGML (optional).

   /usr/share/sgml/docbook
          DocBook DTD (optional).

   /usr/share/sgml/tei
          TEI DTD (optional).

   /usr/share/sgml/html
          HTML DTD (optional).

   /usr/share/sgml/mathtml
          MathML DTD (optional).

   /usr/share/terminfo
          The database for terminfo (optional).

   /usr/share/tmac
          Troff macros that are not distributed with groff (optional).

   /usr/share/xml
          Files for XML (optional).

   /usr/share/xml/docbook
          DocBook DTD (optional).

   /usr/share/xml/xhtml
          XHTML DTD (optional).

   /usr/share/xml/mathml
          MathML DTD (optional).

   /usr/share/zoneinfo
          Files for timezone information (optional).

   /usr/src
          Source  files  for  different parts of the system, included with
          some packages for reference purposes.  Don't work here with your
          own  projects,  as  files  below /usr should be read-only except
          when installing software (optional).

   /usr/src/linux
          This was the traditional place for the kernel source.  Some dis‐
          tributions put here the source for the default kernel they ship.
          You should probably use another directory when building your own
          kernel.

   /usr/tmp
          Obsolete.   This  should  be  a  link to /var/tmp.  This link is
          present only for compatibility reasons and shouldn't be used.

   /var   This directory contains files which may change in size, such  as
          spool and log files.

   /var/account
          Process accounting logs (optional).

   /var/adm
          This  directory  is  superseded by /var/log and should be a sym‐
          bolic link to /var/log.

   /var/backups
          Reserved for historical reasons.

   /var/cache
          Data cached for programs.

   /var/cache/fonts
          Locally-generated fonts (optional).

   /var/cache/man
          Locally-formatted man pages (optional).

   /var/cache/www
          WWW proxy or cache data (optional).

   /var/cache/<package>
          Package specific cache data (optional).

   /var/catman/cat[1-9] or /var/cache/man/cat[1-9]
          These directories contain preformatted manual pages according to
          their  man  page section.  (The use of preformatted manual pages
          is deprecated.)

   /var/crash
          System crash dumps (optional).

   /var/cron
          Reserved for historical reasons.

   /var/games
          Variable game data (optional).

   /var/lib
          Variable state information for programs.

   /var/lib/hwclock
          State directory for hwclock (optional).

   /var/lib/misc
          Miscellaneous state data.

   /var/lib/xdm
          X display manager variable data (optional).

   /var/lib/<editor>
          Editor backup files and state (optional).

   /var/lib/<name>
          These directories must be used for  all  distribution  packaging
          support.

   /var/lib/<package>
          State data for packages and subsystems (optional).

   /var/lib/<pkgtool>
          Packaging support files (optional).

   /var/local
          Variable data for /usr/local.

   /var/lock
          Lock  files are placed in this directory.  The naming convention
          for device lock files is LCK..<device>  where  <device>  is  the
          device's name in the filesystem.  The format used is that of HDU
          UUCP lock files, that is, lock files contain a PID as a  10-byte
          ASCII decimal number, followed by a newline character.

   /var/log
          Miscellaneous log files.

   /var/opt
          Variable data for /opt.

   /var/mail
          Users' mailboxes.  Replaces /var/spool/mail.

   /var/msgs
          Reserved for historical reasons.

   /var/preserve
          Reserved for historical reasons.

   /var/run
          Run-time  variable files, like files holding process identifiers
          (PIDs) and logged user information (utmp).  Files in this direc‐
          tory are usually cleared when the system boots.

   /var/spool
          Spooled (or queued) files for various programs.

   /var/spool/at
          Spooled jobs for at(1).

   /var/spool/cron
          Spooled jobs for cron(8).

   /var/spool/lpd
          Spooled files for printing (optional).

   /var/spool/lpd/printer
          Spools for a specific printer (optional).

   /var/spool/mail
          Replaced by /var/mail.

   /var/spool/mqueue
          Queued outgoing mail (optional).

   /var/spool/news
          Spool directory for news (optional).

   /var/spool/rwho
          Spooled files for rwhod(8) (optional).

   /var/spool/smail
          Spooled files for the smail(1) mail delivery program.

   /var/spool/uucp
          Spooled files for uucp(1) (optional).

   /var/tmp
          Like  /tmp,  this  directory holds temporary files stored for an
          unspecified duration.

   /var/yp
          Database files for NIS, formerly known as the Sun  Yellow  Pages
          (YP).

CONFORMING TO
The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, Version 2.3 ⟨http://www.pathname.com
/fhs/⟩.

BUGS
This list is not exhaustive; different systems may be configured dif‐
ferently.

SEE ALSO
find(1), ln(1), proc(5), mount(8)

   The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard

COLOPHON
This page is part of release 4.04 of the Linux man-pages project. A
description of the project, information about reporting bugs, and the
latest version of this page, can be found at
http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.

Linux 2015-03-29 HIER(7)